impossibility

[ im-pos-uh-bil-i-tee, im-pos- ]

/ ɪmˌpɒs əˈbɪl ɪ ti, ˌɪm pɒs- /

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See synonyms for impossibility on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural im·pos·si·bil·i·ties for 2.

condition or quality of being impossible.

something impossible.

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Origin of impossibility

1350–1400; Middle English impossibilite<Late Latin impossibilitās.See im-², possibility

Words nearby impossibility

imposed, impose on, imposing, imposing stone, imposition, impossibility, impossible, impossible figure, impost, impost block, impostor

How to use impossibility in a sentence

Its validity depended on the impossibility of keeping track of trillions and trillions of molecules, something no real demon, or human, could manage.
Top 10 science anniversaries to celebrate in 2021|Tom Siegfried|February 3, 2021|Science News
Others stick with him because of the impossibility of their survival.
Amateur Baltimore historian unearths new passion for archaeology|Angela Roberts|January 21, 2021|Washington Post
What was pitched as a celebratory aggregation of my listening habits over the previous 12 months exited the machine as a testament to the long stretches of time where engaging with music felt like an impossibility.
Music made 2020 better, but we failed to make 2020 better for musicians|Brian Heater|December 25, 2020|TechCrunch
To consider impossibility, we need to understand that just asserting that a thing exists doesn’t make it so.
Some Math Problems Seem Impossible. That Can Be a Good Thing.|Patrick Honner|November 18, 2020|Quanta Magazine

In short, quantum tunneling seemed to allow faster-than-light travel, a supposed physical impossibility.
Quantum Tunnels Show How Particles Can Break the Speed of Light|Natalie Wolchover|October 20, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The smartest book ever written about the impossibility of direct communication.
Wayne Koestenbaum’s Book Bag: The Best of the ’80s|Wayne Koestenbaum|August 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
So in other words, if "only" 70 senators support the bill--a total impossibility--the House might just blow it off.
Checking Back in on Guns|Michael Tomasky|April 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Immigration reform is an absolute political necessity for the post-Romney GOP, but it may very well be a primary impossibility.
Democrats Need to Stop Attacking Obama’s Budget and Wake Up to Reality|Robert Shrum|April 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Scores are never settled, and getting even becomes both a psychological and mathematical impossibility.
Is Israel Immoral to Retaliate Against Gaza?|Thane Rosenbaum|November 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The magnificent ambition is fundamentally reliant upon the indelible impossibility of its fulfillment.
Aleksandar Hemon on Jorge Luis Borges’s ‘Funes the Memorious’|Aleksandar Hemon|September 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Here is a thing sternly condemned in the older thought as an economic impossibility.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
To beach the boat, land the horses, and get the young ladies ashore in safety, had become an absolute impossibility.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
In fact, he had placed himself in so unsatisfactory a position as to render anything but bad news next door to an impossibility.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
The impossibility of continuing united to Portugal had become daily more apparent.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
His mind cannot grasp the impossibility of suicide before I have explained to the People the motive and purpose of my act.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman

British Dictionary definitions for impossibility

impossibility

/ (ɪmˌpɒsəˈbɪlɪtɪ, ˌɪmpɒs-) /

noun plural -ties

the state or quality of being impossible

something that is impossible

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

impossibility

Origin of impossibility

Words nearby impossibility

Words related to impossibility

How to use impossibility in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for impossibility